1. Field
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a payment vehicle for budgeting, and more specifically to a payment vehicle with a number of built-in virtual budgeting accounts to which a user can allocate funds for payments in corresponding categories.
2. Related Art
Traditionally, consumers who adopt a household budget find that the most difficult part of the budgeting process is compliance, for several reasons. First, tracking the amount left in the budget for a given category of expense is burdensome, particularly for a budget with many categories. Second, tracking expenditures for purchases that cross categories compounds this burden. Third, even a user who knows or suspects that a budget category is exhausted may be tempted to make additional purchases in that category.
To overcome these obstacles, some consumers withdraw the entire budget in cash and divide it among envelopes, one for each budget category. In addition to depriving the user of the benefits of non-cash payment vehicles, such a method inhibits the consumer in the budgeting process, both in terms of the number of budget categories and the granularity of funds allocated to each account. Furthermore, for each purchase, the user must determine the appropriate budget category, locate the appropriate envelope and check it to see if sufficient funds remain before paying for the purchase. Accordingly, there is a need for a payment vehicle that can automate the process of allocating funds and assigning purchases to budget categories.